AstraZeneca: US to share more supplies of vaccine
- Published
The US will share up to 60 million doses of its AstraZeneca vaccine with other countries as they become available, the White House says.
The doses will be able to be exported in the coming months after a federal safety review, AP news agency reports.
Although the AstraZeneca jab is widely used around the world, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has not yet authorised it.
The US has been under mounting pressure to share its vaccine supply.
Last month President Joe Biden pledged to share about four million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine with Mexico and Canada - both of which have approved the jab.
The US has a stockpile of the vaccine, even though the FDA has not yet approved it.
On Monday, the White house said it expected that about 10 million doses of the AstraZeneca vaccine could be released when the FDA finishes its review in the coming weeks.
It said that another 50 million doses were in various stages of production.
The US recently announced it would immediately provide raw materials for Indian vaccine manufacturers as the country battles a devastating surge in cases.
In a phone call with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, President Biden promised more emergency assistance "including oxygen-related supplies, vaccine materials and therapeutics", a White House statement said.